The other day I was rushing to my gate for a flight I had just been reassigned to while on my cellphone with crew scheduling working things out to try to minimize the delay the passengers were going to endure. A lady, walking opposite direction to me, blocked my path, I tried to step around her, she once again blocked my path, and then proceeded to demand I tell her where she can pick up her suitcase (with no other information, such as her airline or flight). Did she not notice that I was in a rush, let alone on the phone? You wouldn't do this to someone you walked by on the street. She started talking to me without even greeting me and once I told her where baggage claim was, she left without even a "thank you."

Stuff like this happens on a daily basis. I get yelled at by passengers all the time over things that have nothing to do with me or I have no control over.... you're angry that we're delayed due to the blizzard outside the window 20ft away, or you're angry that your flight had bad turbulence (nevermind the fact that I wasn't flying, and it wasn't even on my airline), you're angry that you expect me to know every piece of information you could want and that I can't produce it for you, or... you get the idea. And you want to express all this without treating me like a human being, showing me respect, or conducting any logical thought beforehand.

Even though I'm in that uniform and an airline employee, the fact that you spent hundreds of dollars on your ticket to get you to grandma's house does not change the fact that I should to be treated with respect. I always treat you with respect and always do my best to help you with whatever your problem may be even if it has nothing to do with my position at the airline.... so how about realizing I'm a person too? The only difference is that I'm at work.

I'm glad you vented. Most people take air transportation completely for granted, and have no idea what it actually takes to get their butt from point A to point B. The "right to fly" is deeply entrenched into the global agenda now, and unfortunately the days of respect from customers for occupations such as airline captain or ship captain are pretty much gone. Just remember you still hold the wild card of refusing to transport anyone you want on your flight.

Oh well. You're in a uniform at an airport, people will ask you questions. They dont care if you dont work for the airline they're flying, they just want an answer. So, you can either ignore them or send them in the opposite direction they want for a bit of fun. If I was you and was truly in a rush I'd ignore the lady and get to my plane.
I've found out it doesn't matter what uniform you are in, as long as you wear one and are in an airport you will be asked a question. Once I had to pick up some people and had to wear my work uniform, while standing outside the security area people coming out would walk toward me and ask where things are. Stupid, ignorant people, my uniform doesnt look anything like I work at an airport IMO.

Maybe she was on a flight and those behind the door up front never made a P/A to inform the passengers of anything about the flight at all let alone what gate or what terminal the plane was parking which seems to be more and more the norm these days! Might as well be a robot up front pushing the buttons and turning the knobs.

My take is she was thanking you for being rude to her on her flight and really didn't care who you fly for or if you were the pilot on her flight.

Having said that, she was in my mind in need of a good ole smart ass remark.

Any views shared are strictly my own and do not a represent those of any former employer.

It seems that people are getting more rude year by year. The first post just clarifies this. Do what I do when rude people demand information from me, give them the wrong info or send them on a wild goose chase.

I'll agree that passengers can be exceptionally rude to airline employees but..

Quoting Iahflyr (Reply 6):Maybe she was on a flight and those behind the door up front never made a P/A to inform the passengers of anything about the flight at all let alone what gate or what terminal the plane was parking which seems to be more and more the norm these days! Might as well be a robot up front pushing the buttons and turning the knobs.

I think passengers are far nastier to gate agents, ticket agents, and flight attendants than they are to pilots. That comes with the idea that they paid to get from point A to point B and regardless of what's happening outside they expect to be there on time - if not early - regardless of unforseen circumstances.

I also have to say that I personally know more than my fair share of pilots who need to be taken down a notch or two just from the attitude they have. Something about being a feeling of entitlement and/or omnipotence.

Those that are rude to you are rude to everyone. They probably assume that because you are in uniform and presumably on duty that you will absorb their rudeness without protest. I do not. But, I am happy to help when I can. If people have that bewildered look, I usually stop to help. When I am accosted by rudeness I let them know that their behavior is out-of-bounds. Last month some women just grabbed me hard by the arm to stop me. She got an earful about that, but then she got her directions. There are some delightful people out there, but the all-about-me crowd can be tough to take.

I really do not know how gate agents and FA's keep their sense of humor about the idiots that they have to deal with everyday. At least 1 out of every 100 pax is a lunatic.

Have you seen those signs that basically say that abuse of staff will not be tolerated? Why are those signs even necessary? What ever happened to manners, politeness and consideration? Treat people the way you want to be treated and we will all get along so much better.

Quoting Flyf15 (Thread starter):Even though I'm in that uniform and an airline employee, the fact that you spent hundreds of dollars on your ticket to get you to grandma's house does not change the fact that I should to be treated with respect.

That lady who stopped you and "blocked" your path is the CUSTOMER. She is the reason you even have a job. So help her with all your energy and hope that she continues to fly with your airline.

You're in a service industry....and she (the customer) deserves your respect, long before you deserve hers.

I dumped at the gybe mark in strong winds when I looked up at a Porter Q400 on finals. Can't stop spotting.

Flyf15 I empathize with you. I see this every day myself. Last week I had a customer call me a name that began with the letter "F" due to an ATC delay. This guy was wearing a suit and was around 60 or so. I shouldn't single him out, because I see goofy things like this every week. One woman recently started screaming at me because she thought the cabin was too cold. She was about 45 or so and was wearing "Hello Kitty" pajamas. Let's see, what else? I had a guy tell me he ought to kill me because ATC put a ground hold on our flight. He was upset because he would miss his Tee-off and apparently thought that I deserved to die because of a typical day in the Northeast air traffic control system. This was after we explained to everyone that it was an ATC flow control problem into a busy airport with bad weather all around it. His exact words, "I ought-a kill you for making me late for my tee-off."

Here's some more, I had a woman go ballistic on me because she missed her ComAir flight because of traffic and she didn't leave herself enough time to get to the airport. I don't even work for ComAir! One woman poked her head up in the cockpit, a few years back, and told me that I wasn't a very good pilot because the ride was a little bumpy and the pilots that flew her last week made it smooth. Every time we have a long delay, on the ground, and we allow people to use their cell phones "under the agreement that they may have to end their calls abruptly" if we get a sudden clearance, there is always one person who thinks he can keep talking. I could go and on.

Do you want me to tell you the truth? Beginning around 1994 or so, something very strange has happened. Out of no where, a large chunk of the population became overbearing, cross, and ignorant. They just spout off at the mouth about things they have no clue about. Manners hardly exist anymore! People can't even drive anymore! I am taking an online history class and you should see some of the responses people give to test questions! It's not just aviation, it's everywhere!

I advice you to entertain yourself by the behavior of these people. It's the only thing that gets me through the day until it's time to go home or to the hotel. At that point I lock the doors and don't come out until I have to.

Quoting Junction (Reply 4):I'm glad you vented. Most people take air transportation completely for granted, and have no idea what it actually takes to get their butt from point A to point B. The "right to fly" is deeply entrenched into the global agenda now, and unfortunately the days of respect from customers for occupations such as airline captain or ship captain are pretty much gone. Just remember you still hold the wild card of refusing to transport anyone you want on your flight.

I think you are living in your own castle in the air here. hang on a second, customers are in no way obliged to respect you. You on the other hand, are obliged to respect customers who are paying to fly. If they're unhappy with you they'll fly on someone else. But your attitude is very typical of employees of most legacy Western carriers.

You have to understand that nobodies suddenly demand to be a somebody when they travel. I don't know why this is the case but customers tend to become very unreasonable at airports, hotels and restaurants. I'm not saying this is right but it's a fact and if you are in that business you have to be ready to face that kind of attitude from customers. In Japan we have several ways of dealing with situations like these and perhaps western airlines would be wise to train their employees the same way. Sometimes I'll get really upset and fired up but once I start complaining the reaction of the crew settles me down right away. But it all has to start with stopping to blame the customer and handle them better.

Sorry.. as someone who has had to work behind the counter, I have absolutely zero sympathy for a pilot.. especially given some rather lovely memories of pilots acting worse than the passengers described here.

Well, I suppose I need to clarify something. I always treat passengers with respect, and I always help them out. That being the problem with my example of the lady that interrupted me, I didn't simply avoid her... I helped her out. But I was simply shocked at her behavior.

And things like this happen every day, just as Cody said. I swear, people check their brains, common sense, and courtesy with their luggage. I know its not just me who gets this, I get just a small portion of it... the flight attendants and customer service agents get it 100x worse.

Seriously, people, just show some respect. It doesn't matter who you're talking to... your neighbor, the guy next to you on the bus, the pilot of your airplane. You'd be amazed as to how much easier it'll make your life too.

There are plenty of other careers in the world where people receive a lot less respect than an airline pilot does.

Interesting...first response is one of the rudest response I've ever seen here.

It's not just a.net - everyone is or has been rude to someone at some time, present company included.

We're justified in feeling superior, aren't we? We work SO hard at our treacherous jobs that it's somehow "okay" to be rude every now and then.

Quote:Are you the same idiot who posted the same thing on flight info? Just remember those PASSENGERS pay your bills. Im tired of all the guys who just think passengers are there to annoy them. Yes I agree they can be a pain and they can be annoying when your in the middle of a conversation. GRRR You make me so mad. I guess im done venting now.

Good. Remember that the next time someone is rude to you and others justify that rudeness as "part-of-your-job-if-you-don't-like-it-quit-and-find-another-job".

I try and teach my students that rudeness, under any circumstances, is NOT acceptable behavior. It is a sign of a weak mind. You may be frustrated, angry, tired, whatever...but if you go down that path, you will have it come back to you when you least expect it, and you will be just as hurt and frustrated as the person that you did it to!!

You know, its like being in any service oriented job. You can tout that you/we are safety professionals (some are, some aren't) but what it comes down to is....people are people, no one likes someone that has been rude, but we have all been rude. Get over it, its part of the customer service industry. If you expect people to just respect you, your expectations are too high.

Take a deep breath and let it go. She has probably never given it a second throught and look at how much time and energy has been wasted over her not acting the way you would have liked her to have acted.

Quoting Jetdude (Reply 28):I think a bunch of you are full of "you know what" and have very poor people skills. I'm a teacher. Parents of students feel they can yell at me, question my character, professionalism, training, ability, manhood, anything they can think of. Every time this happens, the reason is that their child did not live up to their end of the deal, by not coming to class, not turning in work, not studying. No one owns up to their responsibility.
I have no idea when it became "OK" to treat people with no respect. Whether you are a pilot, CSA, teacher, mechanic, doctor, people feel that because they "pay" for your salary that they own you. They can all go "you know where" and enjoy the warm environment.
People in other countries don't behave like this. This is a serious problem in US society and it only gets worse. This is a generation that has grown up getting everything they wanted and they don't usually like to hear an opinion that is different than theirs. Just because you wear a suit and make a big income does not give you the right to act like an idiot. Money does not buy class.
And no, I'm not angry nor am I unhappy. I love my job, but the few spoiled apples do a great job trying to ruin my happiness.

FLY2LIM

Sorry, but you have never been yelled at, until you have worked for an airline, trust me, I used to be a 911 operator. The people that fly feel they can treat any airline employee like dirt, and get away with it. I put up with so much and then, "they cross the line", that is when I will deny them boarding, because I would not and will not stick some "douchehead" in the air with one of "my crews", and they can scream all they want, the airport Police are just a call away....I am sorry, but if you cannot act civilized on the ground, I seriously doubt you are going to behave in the air....and MY pilots and FA's do NOT need to deal with it !!! Nor will they, when I am at the front counter !

Some days it's just not worth chewing through the restraints...

25 TheGreatChecko
: My take on these situations is that the reason that people come up and ask us questions is that, yes, they do look at pilots in the same eye that peop

26 TheGreatChecko
: From all of us, thank you! If they can't treat you with some decorum, they don't deserve to fly that day. Maybe if they spend a day thinking about it

27 AirScoot
: I said sympathy, not respect. Please be absolutely clear when it comes to the difference between the two. I always respected the pilots I worked with

28 AirSpare
: It goes both ways, rude customers and clients. But I have a great time BS'ing with agents, pilots and FAs (they seem to be the least likely to actuall

29 Zephyr98
: Exactly....they have no business going thru security when they call us names, and trust me, they have some beautiful "colorful eplanatives" they call

30 Futurecaptain
: You should have had him removed from the plane and seen what happened. Being angry is one thing, but threatening a life over a late plane is another.

31 Turnit56N
: Eh, I chalk it up to people being so stressed when they travel. This is a particularly bad time of year for this. I try to put myself in the shoes of

32 BoeingOnFinal
: I can't wait to get into the airline industry and get yelled at for things I have no control over. "I'll try to calm the turbulence down next time" :p

33 SJCRRPAX
: You should wear your hat backwards. Nobody will ask a guy wearing a hat backwards a question. IF they do ask you, be sure to reply, "DO I LOOK LIKE A